The drinks

Of the 26 taps lettered taps, the first four are reserved for less esoteric beers (right now, GLB’s Limp Puppet IPA is one of them). The rest of the taps pour predominantly Canadian sour beers, but also a few ciders and local wines. A cantina is stocked with premium bottles, including Italian grape ales fermented using the wild yeast that occurs naturally on the fruit’s skin. French and Belgian farmhouse beers dominate the bottle program, which means a lot of wild yeast and barrel aging.

Here are all the taps. As it was at Bar Volo, customers order their beer by the letter.

Here’s the cantina.

The food

There’s no kitchen—just a prep space about one square metre in size—which means there’s no room for fussy fare. “It’s the povera cucina—or ‘poor man’s kitchen’ philosophy,” says Julian, “like the snacks you would find in your nonna’s cantina.” Think canned seafood imported from Spain, simple salads and jars of pickled things. Craving something a bit more substantial? Fried chicken from the neighbouring P.G. Clucks can be delivered to your table thanks to a pass connecting the two establishments.

Cannellini and pancetta salad. $10.

Small snacks (lupini beans, peperonata, pickled eggpant and artichokes) come in jars ($4–$8), and Spanish sardines arrive at the table in their own tins ($14).

A jar of Hogtown Charcuterie’s smoked mackerel paté (left) is served with bread from Kensington’s Blackbird Baking Co. $14.

The space

The long and very narrow room was originally an alleyway, but a few decades ago a roof was slapped on it. Apart from a few benches at the back of the room, most of the space is standing-room only. The semi-covered patio (which, when they took over the space, was covered in heaps of sand from its tiki bar past) seats 55.

Julian and Tomas designed the space aiming to hit the sweet spot between industrial and rustic.